Adapting A Lionel ZW 275 Watt AC Transformer To DC Power

Hello everyone I decided to make use of my old Lionel 275 watt ZW AC transformer and adapt it to use with my DC 2 rail trains until I can decide what DCC system and decoders to use. Other people have done this and it’s very easy to do.   Below is a film of my engine running back and forth on the Outdoor test track using the ZW plus some pictures of a wiring diagram and the buildup of the AC to DC converter using a bridge rectifier.

Disclaimer:  

Doing electrical work with these old transformers can be dangerous, proceed at your own risk.                  

I am not responsible if you burn your house down, burn your layout to ashes, melt your favorite train into a molten blob of metal or plastic goo,etc. etc.  
This post is how I did it and is for entertainment use only.

I noticed I need to do some track realignment and some ballast work, but all in all everything seems to have made it through the winter fairly well. All I did was wiped the track down with a mixture of WD-40 and 91% rubbing alcohol, set the 3451 on the track and test ran it back and forth. 

Here is the Radio Shack 25 amp full-wave Bridge Rectifier glued to the inside bottom of a plastic container.

Here is an overall view of the set up before wiring. (Please note the rocker switch on the lid was the wrong style of switch, I ended up replacing it with a DPDT toggle switch that I put on the lid in later photos, since I had already drilled the hole I just left the rocker switch in place rather than having a hole in the lid)

A hole was drilled on front and back side for the wires to go through.

Here is  wiring diagram I tried to draw up,

Black wire on the common and the red wire on A

Here is the wiring going from the transformer into the Bridge Rectifier

Here is the wiring going to the DPDT Switch (Please note you are looking at the switch from the bottom instead of from the top like the drawing

Here is another view of the wiring going to DPDT Switch.

Here is an overhead view of the box which is how the wiring diagram is depicting.

Here I am testing voltage on the layout next to the transformer I got a reading of 17.65 volts.

  

I then went to the other end of the layout and it brought up a reading of 17.63 volts, not to bad considering that it's going through just track pins, none of the feeder wires and main buss wires are hooked up yet.  I have to say I am very satisfied with the results, especially considering the track has been out in the elements since fall.   

I hope I wasn't to confusing.

Until Next Time.

Teaser Video Of The Adapting Of The Lionel ZW 275 Watt Transformer To DC Use

Sorry everyone I thought I was going to have more time to get my newest post on adapting my old Lionel 275 watt ZW Transformer to DC use done, but I have had some things come up and have not had time to get my new post together. 

I should have it posted by Sunday at the latest. Anyway thought I would post a teaser video of the ZW powering my Brass Pecos River 3450 Class Santa Fe 4-6-4 Hudson. 

Installing A New Can Motor Part 2

I thought I would post some more photos on my can motor install. The install is a cheap and quick  way of doing a re-motor. I have seen this technique used in HO scale and O scale with great success.

Overhead view of the install

The motor I used is a Pittman 8424,  I chose this motor because of recommendation from other forums we will see how it goes. I have to say so far I am impressed with it.

I Installed a NWSL 415-6 Flywheel, I don't really know if this size of Flywheel will make much difference in the running capability of the motor but just in case.  

I used silicone to help hold the motor in place. It makes a good dampener as well. Also here is a view of the old motor.

Here is another view of shaft connection using vacuum line.

Everyone until next time 

Installing A New Can Motor In The 2-10-4 Part 1

Hello everyone, thought I would post about the replacing of the open frame motor on my KTM 2-10-4 with a can motor.  I would call  my method on doing this a quick and dirty way to installing a can motor.  I have seen other people doing this with very good results. I am sorry I didn't take any photos during the installation of the motor. 

Anyway I could not sleep the other night so I decided to work on the 2-10-4, was so involved in the install I forgot to take pictures, but below is a short film of the install running back and forth on the track,must say it seems to run very smooth.
there is also some pictures after the fact of the install 

Here is a overall view of the install with supplies

  

Tie Strap Clip, I use 2 of them in the install to set the motor on, I file down the top to help get the proper alignment of the motor and drive shafts or if needed I can add shims to the bottom for the alignment.

This photo shows the tie strap going through the strap clip

After installing the clips and adjusting the clips for shaft alignment I silicone the motor in place on top of the clips I let the silicone dry for 24 hours, Even without the tie strips the motor is very solid.   

I will Post Part 2 Monday

Using Track Outdoors

Hello all, in this post I am going to express my opinion I repeat my opinion on track and the techniques I use to make track survive in an outdoor environment. 

A lot of this info in this post can apply to both 2 rail and 3 rail track.

The top 2 brands of tracks for Outdoor use would be the newer Atlas O and PECO track. I would say Gargraves 3^rd.  The biggest reason for Atlas and PECO is the plastic ties are UV Resistant.  I feel UV is the biggest problem with outdoor railroads, and a close second would be moisture; both Atlas and PECO use Nickle Silver which is perfect for outdoor use.  Rail height for Atlas is code 148 and PECO is code 143. 

As far as Gargraves you have a choice of Stainless Steel rail or Tinplate, hands down Stainless would be the choice to use in the outdoors.  The other problem with Gargraves track is the wooden ties; you need to treat the ties with some sort of protectant to keep them from becoming bug food and rotting out.   

As I mentioned before I have a very limited budget for this hobby and one of my biggest pet peeves is the cost of track and turnouts. With Atlas going between $17.00 and $20.00 per basic 3 foot section, plus a #8 or #10 turnout going for at least $90.00 a pop, for the size of layout that I want to build I would never be able to afford to buy trains or do landscaping.  PECO is better priced at about $11.00 per 3 foot section and $55.00 for turnouts.

 I like PECO the best, I used it with my old HO Scale Outdoor layout and it stood up to the elements and was virtually trouble free, all I would do was use a mixture of WD-40 and 97% rubbing alcohol on a rag, wipe the track down and I was running trains, this technique worked great for me.  

There is other brand’s out there and they may work just as well but I am not familiar with them. 

The reason I am using Gargraves and the problems of using Gargraves.

Have I mentioned before I am cheap. I try to buy my track used,  unfortunately I usually only see the older non UV protected Atlas track for sale in the used market, I think it would work okay by putting a UV protectant coating on the ties before using but I couldn’t say how well it will stand up over a long period of time.  I have never seen the Code 143 PECO track in the used market.  

The biggest reason I am using Gargraves 2 rail track is you can find it way cheaper on the used market than the other brands of track, I have been able to score most of my track on average of between $1.00 and $2.00 a 3 foot section.  My first purchase was used Gargraves 2 rail with the stainless rail and  plastic ties; their plastic ties are UV resistant as well, unfortunately they no longer make their 2 rail track with plastic ties and I don’t see it on the used market very often.  

I also scored about 40 feet of used the stainless with wood ties, I have put a mix of both tie types down to see how well they do in outdoors, so far no problems with either one. 

As far as the wooden ties go,what I did was to make a vat with PVC and plastic sheeting to fit the length of the 3 foot sections of track. I filled the vat up with Thompson’s WaterSeal  Waterproofer Plus Clear  Wood Protector it helps prevent water damage and resists Mildew and UV damage also makes the wood less desirable to the creepy crawlies.  

I take the track and set them in the vat and let them soak completely submerged in the water seal and then soak for couple hours, I then pull the track out and hang them up on the clothesline and let them drip dry, once they dry for a while I will wipe the top of the rails with my WD-40 and 97% alcohol mixture and install the track on the layout. I plan to spray the ties on the layout down each season with the WaterSeal in hopes of prolonging the life of the wooden Gargraves ties outdoors. 

I am also testing tinplate Gargraves track outdoors as well, crazy I know, but what I did was to use my Waterseal procedure with the tinplate track, but I also added WD-40 to the mixture, here is a picture of a 2 rail tinplate track and a stainless 3 rail track setting on the table since early October of last year, tinplate track still looks as good as the stainless.  

You might be asking why on earth I would be wasting my time testing the tinplate, well did I mention I am cheap, I scored over a 100 feet of tinplate 2 rail track for just little over $50.00 it was too good a deal to pass up, I figure if my experiment fails I can use the track inside my shed when I run the line to the shed. I also might add that besides using a magnate to test weather you have stainless or tinplate track Gargraves painted a silver mark on the bottom of some of the ties on stainless track. 

I was very irritated with Gargraves becuse about 9 months ago they stop making turnouts for 2 rail O scale, their manual large radius turnouts were reasonably priced, in some ways it may be a blessing in disguise because let’s face it Gargraves switches are ugly, one of my alternatives is to buy material from Ross Custom Switches and scratch build my own #8 and #10 turnouts which look more prototypical. Ross has nice blueprints of their turnouts which I can use as guide to scratch build my own turnouts, and I will be able to build the turnouts for a fraction of the cost.   

(A little caveat here, I feel it is very important in outdoor use to use feeder wires at every section of track weather you do it by soldering or mechanical means) More on this in a later posting. 

Until Next Time.

Tuck's Ironhorse Rambles